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[bluecrush]

hey everyone, this is my very first post! I've been thinking of teaching english overseas for a while now and the time has come to finally start applying.
A little background, I have just recently graduated from university in canada with a major in Information Technology. The only teaching experience I possess is a 2-3 years of tutoring younger students (if ya call that teaching experience!) and through personal training clients. I am an asian male, 24 yrs old, bron and raised in canada which includes comppleting all my schooling in canada as well.

I was highly thinking of going to Japan but I have already been to 2 interviews with the bigger schools (Aeon and Geos) and in both interviews, I did not qualify to move on. I came out of the interviews thinking I was sure to get in and felt highly confident after the sessions but still did not receive the "passing letter". I have the "ECC" interview coming up so hopefully i get something different this time. I'm beginning to think my ethnicity or my "young" looks are beginning to be a disadvantage toward the job???

So now, i'm trying to consider other places that are reasonably safe and at the same time pay pretty well in order for me to pay off my student loans at the same time. I'm looking into China, Hong Kong etc.

So what I'm asking... What places offer me the best chances of getting a job based on my ethnicity and qualifications that will pay reasonably well. I'm just asking for a couple of options that I can think about.
Thanks a bunch....

ps. Also considering getting a TESOL certificate very soon.

[lagerlout2006]

You say Asian. Are you Chinese-Canadian? If so mainland China or Taiwan are maybe your best options. Or maybe Singapore or Indonesia but I don;t know much about those places. Hong Kong you can forget without more degrees or exp. But it's a free world so I guess you could show up and look for work. Where is the ECC job?

[voodikon]

japan seems a little tough. i tried to go there first and interviewed with one company but got turned down. i too felt confident and had some teaching experience, with kids and all, but after the rejection was discouraged.

then my boyfriend, who is vietnamese american, decided he wanted to come along, and we began looking at our options. without tefl certification it's difficult to get into taiwan, hong kong, singapore, etc. korea, for the most part, apparently refuses to hire asian americans. so china ended up being where we ended up going, somewhat by default. one note to save yourself a lot of time: since employers don't seem to care if they betray their entirely racially discriminatory hiring practices, you might want to mention upfront that you're asian american. countless times we would be corresponding with potential employers and when it came time to send a picture, they would suddenly stop replying.

but china so far has treated us well, and i think we ended up making a good decision. sure, the pay isn't as high as, say, korea or japan, but the costs of living are ridiculously low. i'm projecting that i'll be able to actually save much more than i would working and living in the u.s.

[bluecrush]

thanks for the replies... very helpful.
lagerlout2006: I'm a filipino canadian, so i don't know if that will affect me at all. In terms of ECC, it's for Japan. I really want to go to Japan, but like i said earlier, i' may have to seriously start to consider other options now. I'll look at the options both of you gave me... thanks.

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[PAULH]

[bluecrush]

[Gordon]

Don't worry if you look younger than your age. The first thing people will ask you is your age. I don't think looking young is a detriment. If you're teaching a 45 yr.old, if you are 24 or 28, it really is the same to them.

[PAULH]

[bluecrush]

cool, thanks for the advice, very useful.
regards,
blue